The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Travels to Middle Tennessee For WNIT Action
3/24/2015 | Women's Basketball
Ole Game Notes- at Middle Tennessee (WNIT Third Round) - Game 33 Ole Miss continues action in the 2015 Postseason WNIT on Thursday when it travels to Middle Tennessee to take on the Blue Raiders and setting up Insell vs. Insell for the second time this season. Tipoff is set for 7 pm CT and the winner earns a spot in the WNIT quarterfinals. Game 33: Ole Miss (19-13) vs. Middle Tennessee (23-9) Live Stats | Live Stream| Game Notes(PDF) |
Starting Five
1. Ole Miss advanced to the third round of the WNIT with a 63-48 win over Georgia Tech on Sunday. The win gave Ole Miss its fourth straight win at Tad Smith Coliseum and moved the Rebels to 3-0 in WNIT games played in Oxford. The win also moves the Rebels one win away from the first 20-win season since 2006-07.
2. The Rebels moved to 4-5 in WNIT games with the win and to 22-22 all-time in postseason games, which includes a 17-18 record in the NCAA Tournament. Ole Miss will look to improve its 1-5 WNIT road record on Thursday when it travels to take on Middle Tennessee. It will be the second meeting this season between Matt Insell and his father, Rick Insell.
3. Tia Faleru picked up her 14th double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds against Georgia Tech. It was her 34th career double-double and also her 18th game of 20 or more points. Faleru's 24 points were the most since she had 23 in a road win at Auburn on Feb. 19 and gives her seven 20-point games this year.
4. Head coach Matt Insell will take on his father, Rick Insell for the second time this season and for the first time in postseason action, marking the first time a father and son have meet in women's basketball postseason action. Middle Tennessee won the first meeting, 71-65, back in November in Oxford. This will be Ole Miss' first trip to Murfreesboro since 2001-02.
5. Tia Faleru continues to earn postseason accolades. The 29th best player available for the 2015 WNBA Draft and the No. 21 player in Prospects Nation Elite WNBA Draft board, Faleru was a All-SEC first team selection by the coaches and AP and was the only unanimous first team selection by the AP. She also earned College Sports Madness All-American fourth team honors.
Ole Miss vs. Middle Tennessee Notables
-This will be the 18th meeting between the teams and the second meeting this season after a regular season showdown in Oxford, but is the first meeting in Murfreesboro since the 2001-02 season. Like the regular season contest, this is thought to be the first postseason meeting in NCAA history in which a father and son will be squaring off against each other.
-Not only is there a father-son connection, but also there are plenty of assistant coach connections. Prior to joining the Ole Miss staff, Rebel assistant Alex Simmons served as an assistant coach for three years at Middle Tennessee with Rick Insell. Additionally, Middle Tennessee assistant coach Shalon Pillow was an assistant at Kentucky with Matt Insell.
-Ole Miss is looking for its second win over a C-USA opponent this season after losses to Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky. The Rebels defeated Southern Miss this season and has a 57-27 all-time record against teams from the C-USA.
WNIT Notables
-Ole Miss is making its eighth appearance in the WNIT Tournament and owns a 4-5 record all-time in the WNIT. With a spot in the third round in 2015, Ole Miss has reached the third round twice and is looking for its first quarterfinal appearance.
-The Rebels are 3-0 in WNIT home games and hosted a WNIT postseason game for the first time since 2008-09 this season. Prior to the Georgia Tech game, Ole Miss had never hosted more than one game In the WNIT.
-In the opening round game against UT Martin, Ole Miss set a WNIT record for assists with 20 against the Skyhawks. The previous Ole Miss record for assists in the WNIT was 19 against Murray State in 2008-09.
-The Rebels scored 80 points against UT Martin, which is the third highest point total for the Rebels in the WNIT. Ole Miss has only reached 80 points on three occasions in nine WNIT games.
-Tia Faleru's 24 points against Georgia Tech are the third most points ever scored by an Ole Miss player in WNIT action. She is one of just five players who have scored 20+ in WNIT action.
-The Rebels held Georgia Tech to just 48 points, which is the fewest points allowed in WNIT action and also had 14 steals against the Yellow Jackets which are the most for Ole Miss in the WNIT.
A Win Would...
-Move Ole Miss to 20-13 overall and put the Rebels in the WNIT quarterfinals for the first time. The win would also be the first for Ole Miss head coach Matt Insell over his father Rick Insell and give Ole Miss 20 wins for the first time since 2006-07 when it advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight.
Rebels By The Numbers
3-Number of WNIT home games Ole Miss has hosted and won in its eight WNIT appearances. Ole Miss is 4-5 all-time in WNIT games and a perfect 3-0 in WNIT games played at Tad Smith Coliseum.
7-Number of games Ole Miss has improved by from the 2013-14 to 2014-15 season. Ole Miss had its worst season in program history in 2012-13 and since the hiring of Insell Ole Miss has posted 31 wins and reached the postseason for the first time since 2009-10.
14-Number of double-doubles Tia Faleru has this season. For the second consecutive season she has posted 10+ double-doubles. For her career she has 34 double-doubles which ranks fifth all-time at Ole Miss, making her one of just five players with 30+ career double-doubles. She needs just three more to tie Ole Miss great Jennifer Gillom with 37 career double-doubles.
48-The number of points Georgia Tech scored against Ole Miss. It was the fewest points by an opponent in WNIT action and marked the sixth time the Rebels held an opponent to under 40 points this year. Ole Miss is 6-0 in those games.
104-Number of consecutive games in which Tia Faleru has grabbed a rebound. Faleru, who led the SEC rebounding, is averaging 10.3 rebounds per game, was the only SEC player averaging double-figure rebounds and the only player currently averaging a double-double (14.7 ppg and 10.3 rpg).
Scouting Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee enters Thursday's game with a 23-9 record after defeating Arkansas State, 70-60, in second round WNIT action on Sunday. Olivia Jones is leading the way for the Blue Raiders with 19.6 points per game while Ty Petty is averaging 17.3 points per game. Brea Edwards is contributing a team-best 8.3 rebounds per game and adding 12.9 points per game. The teams have common opponents in Arkansas, Kentucky, Southern Miss and Western Kentucky. The Blue Raiders are averaging 72.3 points per game while holding opponents to just 59.5 points per game. Middle Tennessee is also pulling down 40.4 rebounds per game and owns a +2.5 rebounding average over opponents. In WNIT action, Middle Tennessee is averaging 69.5 points per game and holding opponents to just 59.0 points.
About Ole Miss
Senior forward Tia Faleru continues to lead Ole Miss with 14.9 points per game and 10.1 rebounds per game. Faleru has scored in double figures in 28 of Ole Miss' 32 games and has grabbed eight or more rebounds in 26 of Ole Miss' 32 games. She also has 14 double-doubles on the season which leads the SEC. Faleru, the only player in the SEC to average a double-double, is the lone player in double figures, but Erika Sisk is nearing double figures with 9.3 points per game, while Ole Miss has six players averaging 6.0 points or better. Danielle McCray and A'Queen Hayes are helping Faleru shoulder the rebounding load averaging 5.0 and 4.0 rebounds per game, respectively As a team, Ole Miss is averaging 65.0 points per game while holding opponents to 62.5 points per game.
On Deck
Should Ole Miss advance to the quarterfinals, they will take on the winner of NC State and Temple. The Wolf pack and Owls will play in Philadelphia on Thursday at 7 pm ET.
From The Coach
